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`(No Model.)

HL R. ALLEN.V

MOWING MACHINE.

Patelliaed Deo. 5, 188.2.

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.UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE R. ALLEN, `'OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

MowlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,377, dated December 5, 1882.

Application led December 27, 1881. (No model.)

To all 'whom 'it may concern l Be it known that I, HORACE R. ALLEN, of the city of Indianapolis, county ot' Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Im provementsin MoWing-Machines,

of which the following is a specification.

The object of my said inventionis toimprove that part of the mechanism of mowing-machines which is immediately connected with the cutter-bar and linger-bar thereof, whereby the cutter-bar may be driven more accurately and steadily than in most other machines, thus requiring less power, and its cutting portion. may be more conveniently detached for the purpose of sharpening, Ste., and whereby the finger-bar, and with it said cutter-bar, shall be adapted to more accurate adjustment and more convenient handling; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure l is a top or plan view of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a vertical section looking toward the center of the machine from the dotted line a: x; Fig. 3, a similar view to Fig. 2, except that a bar, instead of a pipe, is used to support the drivingshaft of the cutter-bar; Fig. 4, a section on an enlarged scale of the gear-case and driving-V gears, taken on the line of said driving-shaft; Fig. 5, a vertical section of the lower end of said driving-shaft and connecting parts on the dotted .line y y; Fig. 6, a transverse section of the head of the driving-shaft and accompanying parts on the dotted line z z, and Fig. 7 a view showing a con struction which may he em-v ployed instead of that shown in Fig. 6.

In said drawings, the portions marked A A represent the Wheels of the machine; B, the axle thereto; C, the frame-work or inclosing casing thereof; D, the tongue or pole E, the seat; F G H I J K, a system of gear-wheels L, a shaft running from the concluding wheel of said set to the cutter-bar; M, an eccentric on said shaft; N, said cutterbar, `having a yoke, N', in which is aslot or opening,in which said eccentric revolves, and thus moves said bar; O, the nger-bar; P, the shoe Q, a bar or pipe connecting the casing on the axle and said shoe, and R a brace running from a point on'said axle or the frame-work to a point ou said bar near said shoe.

The wheels, axle, frame work or casing, tongue, and seat are not in themselves peculiar, and can be readily understood from the drawings and the foregoing brief description.

In the system of gears shown that marked F is internally7 toothed, and is fixedly secured inside the casing O. Those marked G and II are mounted, by means of short pivot-shaftsg and h, upon the loosely-mounted wheel I upon the axle, andmesh into both the internal gear, F, and the smaller or pinion portion of the double gear J. The larger or bevelv portion ofsaid wheel Jmeshes into the pinion l( on the shaft L. When the clutch I is not engaged with the hub of the wheel I (see Fig. 4) the gears remain motionless, and the shaft L and cut ting machineryarethereforeoutofoperation. When, however, the clutch I (which moves longitudinally along the axle, and is held from turning by a spline thereon) is throwninto engagement with the hub of the wheel l, said wheel is thereby put in motion, and with it the wheels G and H, and also the wheel J, by reason of the engagement of said wheels G and H with the internal gear, F.- This arrangement gives said wheel J a rapid rate of speed, and thus also drives the wheel K and shaft L very fast, as is necessary in mechanism for this purpose.

The shaft L and eccentric M are ordinary forms of such devices. The eccentric may be replaced with a crank, if desired, as shown in Fig. 7. This latter may be found even preferable to the former, as an anti-friction roller may be placed upon the crank-pin, if desired, which cannot be done to advantage on an eccentric.

The cutter-bar N has the yoke N attached to orforming a part thereof, which, while not a. new form of mechanism, is, as I believe, new in this connection. The eccentric M its into the slot or opening therein, and as it revolves, by reason of its form, forces the yoke and the cutter-bar, of which said yoke forms a part, back and forth. The cutter-bar is provided with bearing portions n2 n3 upon both sides ot' the yoke, and this,in addition to yoke attachment just described, gives a very steady movement to said bar, and prevents the jerking and roo consequent loss of power and eXtra wear which occurs when the ordinary pitmanconnection is employed.

A very convenient means of uncoupling the cutter-bar for the purpose of removing it to sharpen theknives, and for otherpurposes, consists in forming right-and-lett-handed screwthreads upon the two parts thereof where they come together, and connecting them by a righ tand-left-handed nut, N2, as shown. A leather or other compressible washer (indicated by the heavy black line between the ends) should be inserted betweensaid ends. A couplingjoint may be substituted for one ofthe screwthreads, as shown in Fig. 7.

The lowerend ofthe pipe Q has a casting, Q', which is mountedthereon, and is capable ofa rotary movement around said pipe. The shoe P, and with it the heel of the iin ger-bar, is connect ed to this casting by theshoe being pivoted on the trunnions g g' on the sides of said casting by means ofthe bearing-block p or some similar device. This last-described attachment permits the cutter-bar to be rotated somewhat when necessary to bring the knives into the proper cutting position, while the rotary movement, ofwhich the casting Q." is capable, around the pipe Q permits the whole nger-bar'and its attachments to be raised to a vertical position, or such position as is desired, by any of the means adapted for that purpose, none ofried by slightly rotating the linger-bar and shoe on the trunnions q q by means of the rod P' and lever P2, or otherwise. When it is desired to raise the finger-bar it can be done by rotating the casting Q', on which said fingerbar and the shoe are mounted, on the pipe Q. When it is desired to remove the cutter-bar it can be done by simply unscrewing the rightand-left-hand-threaded nut N2, which connects the back or bar to which the cutting sections or knives are attached to the portion in which is the yoke N', thus permitting the cutter-bar to be drawn entirely out from the outer end of the nger-bar.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a mowing-machine, of a shaft, L, which connects the cutter-bar to the driving-gear on the axle, and which is provided with an eccentric or crank upon its end, a casing, e', at the lower end ot' and surrounding said shaft, provided with two bearings, q q', one on each side of said shaft, and the cutter-bar N, mounted and moving in said bearings, and provided with a yoke, N', in` 

